Intel has been exploring the GPU market for a few years, and with its latest offering, the Battlemage Intel Arc B580, the company appears ready to go all in. This new GPU marks a significant evolution in Intel’s strategy, delivering numerous upgrades and improvements over the previous generation Alchemist GPU range. Built on the new Xe2 architecture and manufactured using TSMC’s N5 process, these cards represent Intel’s most competitive entry yet in the mainstream gaming segment, targeting the crucial $200 to $300 price bracket.
This new GPU represents a significant improvement over Intel’s previous generation lineup. Although the flagship B580 features fewer Xe-cores than its predecessor (20 compared to the A750’s 28), it delivers superior gaming performance—highlighting the architectural advancements of the Xe2 generation and underscoring why this new GPU is so noteworthy. In addition to this performance boost, the Intel Arc B580 GPU offers a 70 per cent improvement per Xe-core and a 50 per cent enhancement in energy efficiency compared to the previous generation.
As with most of Intel’s recent offerings, power efficiency has been a key focus for the Intel Arc B580. The B580 operates with a total board power of 190W, while the B570 runs at 150W, both requiring a minimum 600W power supply unit. This represents a solid middle ground for discrete GPUs, balancing power consumption and performance effectively.
For those comparing cards in a similar price range, the B580 draws more power than both the RTX 4060’s 115W Total Graphics Power (TGP) and the RX 7600’s 165W Total Board Power (TBP), but less than the previous generation RTX 3060 Ti, which has a 200W TGP, giving us a good baseline for evaluating the card’s efficiency.
“As with most of Intel’s recent offerings, power efficiency has been a key focus for the Intel Arc B580…”
The core of this new GPU is the BMG-G21 GPU SoC, featuring an impressive 19.6 billion transistors spread across a 272mm² die. The B580 is equipped with 12GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit interface, delivering 456 GB/s of bandwidth, while the B570 offers 10GB with 380 GB/s of bandwidth. The Intel Arc B580 supports a full range of modern features, including DirectX 12 Ultimate, and will receive Vulkan 1.4-compliant drivers in the first quarter of 2025. Unfortunately, due to it not being out for the review period, we were not able to test the Vulkan 1.4 aspects of the card in time for the embargo.
Intel has been promoting the new features of the Battlemage GPU range, much of which focuses on the B-Series integration of XeSS 2, Intel’s enhanced AI-based upscaling technology. This includes XeSS Frame Generation, a feature designed to improve frame rates and gaming smoothness. Combined with Xe Low Latency technology, it aims to deliver more responsive gaming experiences, which are particularly important for competitive gaming scenarios and esports.
As we enter 2024, with AI integrated into nearly every facet of technology, Intel has ensured that generative AI features are included in this GPU. The addition of second-generation XMX engines enables impressive on-device inference speeds, while the improved Ray Tracing Units deliver up to twice the throughput of their predecessors. This makes the cards versatile options for users balancing gaming with creative workloads. Despite its price range, the Intel Arc B580 is designed to handle some AI workflows and can even work with large language models (LLMs) and image generation. I will expand on this later, but it’s important to highlight what makes this new GPU such a generational leap forward for Intel.
What stands out most is how Intel is pricing these new GPUs, particularly in comparison to the competition. The Intel Arc B580 GPU is being marketed as a best-in-class performer in terms of price-to-performance ratio, specifically within the $250-$300 segment. I will expand on this further, but even based on Intel’s review benchmarks, the $249 price tag for the B580 and $219 for the B570 make these offerings highly competitive. This pricing strategy appears to be an aggressive move, especially for mid-range enthusiasts seeking strong 1080p and 1440p performance.
Unboxing the new Intel Arc B570 reference card sent for review, I was impressed by its simple yet elegant design. Reminiscent of the last-generation A570 card, the new GPU features an all-black dual-blower design. Beyond an illuminated Intel Arc logo on the top of the card, it is relatively clean and lacks the usual RGB lighting many brands include in their GPUs. The card features a single 8-pin PCIe power connector and has a compact 2-slot design. Measuring 10.5 inches by 1.5 inches, it should fit comfortably in most standard ATX cases without any issues.
For testing, we installed the Intel Arc B580 into our Intel test bench, which featured a GIGABYTE Z890 AORUS Elite WiFi7 ICE motherboard, an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU, 32GB of Kingston Fury DDR5 6000 RAM, a Samsung 990 M.2 SSD, an ASUS ROG RYUO III AIO cooler, and a GIGABYTE 850W PSU, all housed in a HYTE Y70 PC case. Each game was tested at Ultra settings unless otherwise specified, and each comparable GPU was retested under identical conditions in the same system to ensure accurate performance. For reference, the PC was running the latest version of Windows 11 at the time of testing, and all drivers were fully uninstalled before switching GPUs to ensure the results were not skewed. We tested frame generation using either DLSS, FSR, or XeSS whenever we could. However, not all games support all solutions, so we had to leave some GPUs out of our frame generation tests depending on what the game supported.
“The Intel Arc B580 supports a full range of modern features, including DirectX 12 Ultimate, and will receive Vulkan 1.4-compliant drivers in the first quarter of 2025.”
Jumping into testing, we ran the new Intel Arc B580 through the same slate of synthetic tests we use for all new GPUs. Straight out of the gate, the card performed very well compared to the GPUs we tested it against. In our 3DMark Time Spy test, it achieved a GPU score of 15,038, outperforming all other tested cards, including the more expensive NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti. As with all GPU reviews, synthetic benchmarks serve as a baseline for overall performance rather than real-world results, but this is an impressive showing considering the Intel Arc B580’s price point.
For gaming, we limited our testing to 1080p and 1440p resolutions, as these are the primary markets for this card. While the Intel Arc B580 delivered acceptable 4K performance in some games, achieving above 30 FPS, the frequent low frame rates made it unsuitable for regular 4K use. That said, we tested a range of games to compare its performance to the previous-generation Intel Arc A750, the AMD RX 7600, and the NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti. We opted for the more powerful Ti version of the 4060 to provide a broader comparison and better evaluate how the mid-range market stacks up against this new Intel offering.
| 1080P Benchmarks | RX 7600 | Intel Arc A750 | RTX 4060 Ti | Intel ARC B580 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 134 | 105 | 198 | 167 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider + FG | – | 125 | 224 | 188 |
| Gears 5 | 111.4 | 80.7 | 83.2 | 91.5 |
| Assassin’s Creed Mirage | 106 | 69 | 121 | 85 |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | 141 | 73 | 115 | 101 |
| Watch Dogs Legion | 79 | 60 | 94 | 66 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 85.22 | 88.13 | 112.76 | 118.69 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 + RT | 18.15 | 51.36 | 54.96 | 71.53 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 RT FG | 34.17 | – | 65.13 | – |
| F1 24 | 98 | 47 | 131 | 101 |
| F1 24 + FG | – | – | 142 | 189 |
| Total War: Warhammer III | 85.5 | 71.8 | 99.8 | 92 |
| Metro Exodus | 67.7 | 78.35 | 85.51 | 86.67 |
| Hitman 3 | 120.26 | 62.7 | – | 121.66 |
Starting with our 1080p benchmark, the Intel Arc B580 had a strong showing in most games at Ultra settings with ray tracing turned off. Cyberpunk 2077 delivered an impressive 118.69 FPS, placing the B580 at the top of our range, even outperforming the more expensive RTX 4060 Ti. The card also achieved high scores in games like Gears 5, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Total War: Warhammer III, while securing the highest score among tested GPUs in Metro: Exodus.
| 1440P Benchmarks | RX 7600 | Intel Arc A750 | RTX 4060 Ti | Intel ARC B580 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 86 | 77 | 131 | 106 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider + FG | – | 107 | 166 | 165 |
| Gears 5 | 74.5 | 61.5 | 77.8 | 71.9 |
| Assassin’s Creed Mirage | 72 | 57 | 112 | 66 |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | 106 | 59 | 86 | 78 |
| Watch Dogs Legion | 60 | 47 | 67 | 54 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 54.37 | 67.5 | 68.45 | 86.49 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 + RT | 8.05 | 39.41 | 48.67 | 59.87 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 RT FG | 26.12 | – | 55.44 | – |
| F1 24 | 85 | 79 | 111 | 88 |
| F1 24 + FG | – | – | 140 | 157 |
| Total War: Warhammer III | 54 | 47.7 | 65.2 | 60.7 |
| Metro Exodus | 45.88 | 59.09 | 62.65 | 65.77 |
| Hitman 3 | 109.01 | 56.36 | – | 99.44 |
Right out of the gate, Intel has done an excellent job with the Arc B580. At 1080p, the Intel Arc B580 GPU delivered a solid performance, managing to go toe-to-toe with the more expensive RTX 4060 Ti while achieving impressive benchmarks across a variety of games. Even with ray tracing enabled, the Intel Arc B580 held its own, outperforming the RTX 4060 Ti in our Cyberpunk 2077 test.
“At 1080p, the Intel Arc B580 GPU delivered a solid performance, managing to go toe-to-toe with the more expensive RTX 4060 Ti while achieving impressive benchmarks across a variety of games.”
However, one area where the RTX 4060 Ti holds an edge over the Intel Arc B580 is in frame generation through DLSS frame generation. While Intel’s XeSS frame generation technology performs well, its availability is currently limited to a handful of games, whereas NVIDIA’s frame generation technology boasts broader integration across more titles. That said, when XeSS is supported, it performs impressively. For example, in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the RTX 4060 Ti came out ahead, although XeSS narrowed the gap to single digits. Intel even managed to secure a win over the RTX 4060 Ti in F1 24, delivering more than 15 FPS above what we observed with the 4060 Ti—something I did not expect at 1440
Jumping to our 1440p benchmarks, the Intel Arc B580 performs on par with the RTX 4060 Ti in most games, even taking the lead in our Cyberpunk 2077 Ultra preset test. More surprisingly, it outperformed every card when Cyberpunk 2077 was set to the Ultra Ray Tracing preset, including the RTX 4060 Ti with DLSS enabled. However, it fell behind in titles such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider, F1 24, and Total War: Warhammer III. Even in these cases, the gap was minimal—often only a single digit difference between the two top cards.
Unfortunately, we had to limit our full assessment of Hitman 3 from the benchmarks due to recurring application crashes when testing with the RTX 4060 Ti. Despite this issue, the Intel Arc B580 outperformed both the Intel Arc A750 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 in this game and delivered some solid results at both 1080P and 1440P.
In our content creation software tests, the Intel Arc B580 delivered a strong performance, providing a solid option for users looking to stream or edit content with the GPU. It performed well with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, and DaVinci Resolve, offering a range of encoding and decoding options directly on the card. This makes it a good choice for OBS streaming and video rendering. While most cards we tested offer AV1 encoding, the variety of options available for content creators with the Intel Arc B580 GPU is impressive. For those considering Intel for their streaming setup, the Arc B580 ensures access to the latest technology, enabling videos to look their best.
It’s worth noting that while many programs remain optimized for NVIDIA CUDA, the Arc B580 lacks these specific features. However, with more software expanding beyond CUDA, these limitations are far less noticeable than they were just a few years ago.
Looking at the AI capabilities of the Arc B580, I have to say I am generally impressed. With 12GB of memory compared to the 8GB found in NVIDIA’s RTX 4060 Ti, it can handle more complex generative AI workflows and slightly larger models. Using the Intel AI Playground, the Arc B580 produced images in five to 10 seconds on average, depending on settings and complexity. It was also capable of working with small to medium-sized LLMs, delivering fast responses for most queries.
However, it struggled with 7B models, performing painfully slowly when pushed, though this was expected. Still, Intel has done an excellent job—especially for a mid-range GPU priced under $300. It offers a range of potential and delivers a solid experience, even if it can’t match higher-end options in delivering a workable experience for larger models.
The Intel Battlemage Arc B580 is without question a solid evolution compared to their Alchemist range, delivering impressive results across the board. It stands as an impressive mainstream gaming and creative workflow GPU, bringing some of the latest technology to the forefront at a price that makes it exciting to new builds. Even more impressive is how well Intel has priced the GPU, hitting the sweet spot below what AMD and NVIDIA charge for their comparable offerings. With the AMD RX 7600 costing around $269.99 and the NVIDIA RTX 4060 setting you back $299.99 currently (the 4060 TI we tested starting at $399), the value proposition with the Intel Arc B580 is striking.
With the improvements from what we saw with Alchemist, the features Intel has stuffed into the card, and the performance it delivers, the Arc B580 is without question the best value you can find in a mainstream GPU currently. It delivers comparable performance to what you can find from both AMD and NVIDIA, and does so at a lower price point, and even manages to feature more memory while it does so. Intel has a winner on their hands with the Battlemage Arc B580, and it is without question a GPU you should consider if you are building a mainstream gaming rig.
“…the value proposition with the Intel Arc B580 is striking.”
As we noted in our review of the Intel Arc A750, it’s important to preface this evaluation of the new GPU by acknowledging that while Intel has made significant improvements to the Arc range since its launch—regularly releasing drivers for new games to ensure day-one readiness—both AMD and NVIDIA still maintain a substantial lead on the software side. As a result, there is potential for some games to underperform relative to the GPU’s specifications.
Catching up in just a few years is a challenge, given that AMD and NVIDIA have spent decades refining their drivers and optimizing performance for gamers. That said, Intel has made impressive strides, and based on the performance observed during testing, they seem to have a capable team actively addressing these issues.
I am impressed by what Intel has brought to the table, demonstrating they have what it takes to compete with the major players in the GPU market. The Intel Arc B580 is a fantastic GPU that delivers on its promises, offering a price-to-performance ratio that is hard to beat. If you are considering the NVIDIA RTX 4060 or the AMD RX 7600, it’s worth looking at the new Arc B580. It delivers performance that is equal to or better than these cards in many titles and continues to improve as the drivers mature.
While Intel Arc is not yet competing with enthusiast-level cards like the RTX 4070 or RX 7800, for anyone seeking a 1440p gaming experience, the Intel Arc B580 is an excellent choice.
- The Complete Gaming Experience: Game at high resolutions with high frame rates and high image fidelity with Intel XeSS AI-enhanced upscaling technology and full support for ray tracing.
- A Versatile Creator Toolkit: The advanced Xe Media Engine handles high throughput creation easily in up to 8K resolution, plus support for all the most popular media codecs for varied content creation
